State-owned telecommunication company, TelOne says a total of a total of 196 incidents of live network vandalism were recorded in the six months to June this year translating to US$ 292 620 prejudiced in terms of potential revenue.
This was an 18 percent increase in vandalism incidents and a 64 percent increase in monetary loss.
In turn, a total of 29 000 customers were affected by vandalism-induced downtime, a 74% surge customers affected in prior comparable period.
“Country-wide, incidents of vandalism of the TelOne telecommunications infrastructure have been on an increase with vandals mostly targeting copper installations that currently make up more than 60% of the network,” said TelOne.
“This five-year-old problem has put the business is under threat, with at least US$1,5million having been recorded in lost revenue and network elements for the period ended 31 December 2021.”
In terms of equipment lost, the company lost network valued at US$362,460, representing a 15 percent increase when compared to first half 2021.
Year to date, a total of 28 vandals have been arrested compared to 23 arrests that were made in the first six months of 2021. Out of these arrests, 8 of the suspects were sentenced to the mandatory 10-year jail term by the courts.
“We expect the conviction rate to rise once the Copper Amendment Bill – which seeks a minimum of 30 years’ imprisonment for convicted copper thieves, among other requirements – gets presidential ascent in the second half of 2022. This legislative piece sailed through the National Assembly last month.”
TelOne is now part of an Anti-Vandalism Task Force comprising of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), ZESA Holdings and the National Railways of Zimbabwe to coordinate efforts in fighting vandalism of state and essential services infrastructure.
The company has a reward scheme in place as an incentive to members of the public who provide valuable information that leads to the identification and arrest of suspects.
The company urged the public to dial 999 to report theft of its network infrastructure.
